Research Guides: Political Science: Getting Started

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Search the Davidson Library Catalog to find additional reference books.

Gale eBooks Reference Library
Gale eBooks is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. A good source for background information. Download, print, or email as many chapters as you like. You can even send chapters to your Google or Microsoft account.

Welcome to the Political Science research guide! Use this guide as a starting point for your research in this subject area.

CQ Press Library
Background information, current and historical coverage, and statistical data related to U.S. government, legislative history, politics, public policy, and current affairs. Includes: CQ Almanac (1945- ), CQ Researcher Plus Archive (1923- ), CQ Magazine (1983- ), Politics in America Collection (1789- ), Supreme Court Yearbook as well as links to other CQ Press reference titles.

Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations
Background information and data on the nations, territories, and dependencies of the world.

Oxford Reference
Within Oxford Reference, you may find results that range from short-entry, general reference to more in-depth articles on specialized subjects. Note: while we do not have access to all of the titles in the full collection, the default search covers the titles that Davidson owns.
Gale eBooks Reference Library
The full text of over 1,000 reference books -- including many scholarly subject encyclopedias -- covering a wide variety of disciplines and subjects. Includes the Encyclopedia of Sociology.

Political Handbook of the World
(2008 to present) Background information on the governments, political histories, and political party systems of countries worldwide; also profiles UN and non-UN intergovernmental organizations.

Background Notes
(Current edition) Concise political, demographic, economic, and social information about more than 170 countries, geographic entities, and international organizations. From the U.S. Department of State.
CIA World Factbook
(Current edition) Provides concise information, including geographic, demographic, and economic data, for over 250 countries. Prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Some earlier editions are also archived online from the US GPO.

BBC News - Country Profiles
Full profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions. They also include audio and video clips from BBC archives.
Library of Congress - Country Studies
The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world.
The Book of the States
(1935 to present) Provides constitutional, legislative, electoral, and judicial information and statistics for all U.S. states, commonwealths, and territories. Tables are available in Excel or PDF format.